Outlook: Another strong regular-season performance ended short of the Cup. The Sharks still have an exceptional defense corps despite the retirement of Rob Blake. The big change is in goal. Evgeni Nabokov was allowed to walk as a free agent and GM Doug Wilson signed Antti Niemi from salary cap-strapped Chicago.

It isn't unheard of for a third-year NHL franchise to turn itself into a Stanley Cup contender. The Florida Panthers did it in 1995-96, making it all the way to the finals before losing to the Colorado Avalanche.But the performances of expansion teams...

DENVER -- In a city mourning the shooting deaths of students at a suburban high school, the Colorado Avalanche yesterday postponed its opening two NHL playoff games and the Colorado Rockies called off a second straight baseball game.Citing ownership...

Everybody wants an edge.Goals-against averages and goal totals appear to indicate that the edge is goaltending for at least half of the NHL's 26 teams. But is it?Are the goaltenders brilliant? They certainly seem to be -- through Monday, 13 of them had...

When he was hired as the Flyers' general manager in the spring of 2014, Ron Hextall called it his “dream job.”
On Monday morning, Hextall got nightmarish news. In a stunning move, the Flyers fired Hextall but did not immediately replace him.
“We thank...

It was at the NHL draft last month that Mark Yannetti, the Kings’ director of amateur scouting, noticed a distinct contrast between the demeanor of his former boss, Dean Lombardi, and that of Rob Blake, who succeeded Lombardi as the club’s general...

General manager Dean Lombardi, who built the Kings into a two-time Stanley Cup champion but became ensnared in a series of questionable trades and signings and couldn’t sustain that shining success, and coach Darryl Sutter, who left his Alberta farm to...

A day after getting Jonathan Quick back from a groin injury that had sidelined him all season, the Kings picked up another top goaltender Sunday when they acquired veteran Ben Bishop in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And while that doesn’t...

Kings franchise goaltender Jonathan Quick underwent a non-surgical procedure designed to strengthen a tendon rather than opting for surgery for his injured groin.
Although the recovery and rehabilitation process can be unpredictable, Kings General...

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi said that injured goalie Jonathan Quick will consult with several doctors in an effort to determine the course of treatment and rehabilitation.
Quick was injured late in the first period of Wednesday's season-opening...

And now, the traditional Team Europe fight song ...
That’s one announcement we won’t be hearing during the World Cup of Hockey, which begins Saturday with Team Europe — an amalgam of standouts from countries that lack the depth to ice competitive...

All the talk about NHL belt tightening and cost containment turned out to be just that — talk.
The action started early on the opening day of NHL free agency — think Black Friday at the mall — and by the time the first hour passed, teams had spent...

NHL general managers were relatively restrained on the first day of free agency, favoring strategic signings over the throw-money-at-the-problem moves that previously trapped many of them in salary-cap purgatory.
A couple of intriguing trades stole the...

The relationship between the Kings and defenseman Andrej Sekera lasted 16 games.
Sekera not only is leaving the Kings but the unrestricted free agent landed in the same division, reaching a six-year deal worth $33 million with the fast-rebuilding...

The glow of the 2014 Stanley Cup triumph and the reassuring words and promises from Mike Richards were enough to persuade Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi against using a compliance buyout with the veteran center last summer.
But loyalty proved costly...

Doesn't the modern-day sports star go to Disneyland after something significant unfolds, not before?
Boston Bruins power forward Milan Lucic returned to his summer home in Canada from the park visit and found out one day later that his job skills were...

Weeks after Jarret Stoll was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and Ecstasy, he met with his boss, Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi.
Lombardi was the man who traded for Stoll in 2008 and watched as the center became a team...

At the very least, the Kings have an image problem to deal with after the arrest of center Jarret Stoll at a Las Vegas resort Friday on suspicion of possessing controlled substances, specifically cocaine and Ecstasy, a felony in Nevada.
At the very...

There's that old phrase: What happens in the room stays in the room. But what happens if the coach can't get in the room?
Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi on Sunday confirmed an earlier report that his players kept Coach Darryl Sutter out of the...